Toledo artists will gather for tribute to legendary poet

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Local spoken-word artists, actors and community activists will hold a creative memorial to the iconic late musician Gil Scott-Heron at 7 p.m. July 7, 2011 at the Peacock Café, 2007 Monroe St. in Toledo.

         

The open-mic event will feature performers from the acclaimed New Works Writers Series theatrical troupe and is free to the public. University of Toledo professor Carter Wilson will co-host the special program, “Reflecting & Remembering: A Tribute to Gil Scott-Heron,” with Imelda Hunt, founder of New Works.

“As a performer, poet and recording artist, Gil Scott-Heron helped increase community consciousness in ways that very few other creative voices did,” says Hunt. “Our program will give Toledo’s arts community a chance to mourn his death and revisit the powerful messages in his body of work.”

Best-known for his signature 1970s spoken-word song “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” Scott-Heron died in New York May 27. His songs and poetry addressed the black experience in America and the challenges of living in urban social settings.

A Grammy Award nominee, Scott-Heron is regarded by many as the “godfather” of hip hop.

Writers, musicians, educators and the general public are encouraged to share their thoughts and work, or simply enjoy the program, Hunt says. For more information about “Reflecting & Remembering: A Tribute to Gil Scott-Heron,” please call (419) 343-2935 or e-mail director@newworkswritersseries.org.

'The 2011 Gentleman Practice National Tour' at the Collingwood Arts Center

On Saturday, April 23, 2011, from 6:60 pm to 7:30 pm, Buddy Wakefield will be performing at the Collingwood Arts Center. He is a spoken word artist, who has just finished a book titled "Gentleman Practice", and this will be his final national solo tour.

According to the biography on his website, he "is the two-time Individual World Poetry Slam Champion featured on NPR, the BBC, HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, and most recently signed to Ani DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records. In 2004 he won the Individual World Poetry Slam Finals thanks to the support of anthropologist and producer Norman Lear then successfully defended that title at the International Poetry Festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands against the national champions of seven European countries with works translated into Dutch.

In 2005 he won the Individual World Poetry Slam Championship again and has gone on to share the stage with nearly every notable performance poet in the world in hundreds of venues internationally from The Great Lawn in Central Park and Scotland’s Oran Mor to San Quentin State Penitentiary, House of Blues New Orleans and First Avenue."

Tickets for the event are $10.00 each and can be purchased online. The Collingwood Arts Center is located at 2413 Collingwood Blvd., Toledo, Ohio.

4th Annual Bukowski Memorial Open Mic

On Wednesday, March 9, 2011, from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm, the 4th annual Bukowski memorial open mic poetry event will take place at Wesley's Bar and Grill.

If you would like to read either a short selection of fiction or a poem, please arrive early to make sure you are included on the sign up sheet. In addition to the open mic, there will be a few featured readers.

Also, there will be light refreshments and drink specials. Wesley's Bar and Grill is located in downtown Toledo at 1201 Adams Street.

Village Voice Poetry at ICE restaurant and bar

On Tuesday, March 8, 2011, from 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm, Village Voice Poetry will be hosting an open mic poetry reading at the ICE restaurant and bar.

According to the Facebook page for the event, "The Village is a supportive group of eclectic people that show their love through words. Sharing our stories in front of a audience that is welcoming can be very exciting for a poet, or those of us who just have poetry tendencies, so bring your notebooks, listening ears, and a lot of love, the Village is waiting.

Soultry discribes this night. Addiix of POETRY and NEO SOUL gather to meet and let their WORDS be heard throughout the VILLAGE. The Village is everyone, the voice is our words, and the message comes from the poet and story teller. The stories reflect on past, present, future, and those situations that don't exist, FICTION. The stories are SHARED, and the VILLAGE becomes the WELCOMING of THE VOICE."

The cover charge for the poetry reading is $3.00. The ICE restaurant and bar is located at 405 Madison Ave, Toledo, Ohio (inside of the PNC building).

So come out and support local poetic talent!

Covert Press Artists poetry reading

On Saturday, March 12, 2011 from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, at the Collingwood Arts Center there will be a poetry reading featuring the prose of Covert Press Artists. The featured readers will include Michael Grover, Bob Phillips, Dan Smith, and Leonard Kress. The Collingwood Arts Center is located at 2413 Collingwood Blvd.,Toledo, Ohio. This event signifies the end of the monthly Covert Press exhibit, which is being displayed in the gallery of the Collingwood Arts Center.